


Halloween Special

by earlgreyteawrites



Category: Voltron - Fandom, klance - Fandom
Genre: Anxiety, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, KEITH FIC, M/M, Vld keith - Freeform, keith kogane - Freeform, klance, klance fic, klance fluff, klangst, lance fic, lance mcclain - Freeform, lance serrano - Freeform, mild PTSD mention, vld keith fic, vld klance fic, vld lance - Freeform, vld lance fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-12 11:38:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16872252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earlgreyteawrites/pseuds/earlgreyteawrites
Summary: Okay, let’s get this straight. Lance would do just about anything for Keith. Keith wants to watch movies for a date? Sure! Keith wants to go out for Korean for dinner? Why not! Keith wants to go to the most terrifying haunted house in the entire state…well, that was sort of a different story.





	Halloween Special

**Warning! Possibly triggering content! - slightly gory descriptions, PTSD, trauma and bad flashbacks**

* * *

 

    Okay, let’s get this straight. Lance would do just about anything for Keith. Keith wants to watch movies for a date? Sure! Keith wants to go out for Korean for dinner? Why not! Keith wants to go to the most terrifying haunted house in the entire state…well, that was sort of a different story.

    Lance shuffled nervously back to his car as Keith stood in line. His face was lit up with excitement as he stood there, hardly able to contain himself. Keith had blabbered about this place the entire one hour car ride, a huge smile blooming on his face. He’d talked about how Shiro had took him once here as a little kid (totally unaware that this was some eighteen plus sort of scary level) and Keith had simply laughed and giggled while Shiro went home and had nightmares for weeks. Okay, yeah, if Shiro got scared it was pretty bad. And at this point Lance was worried that Keith’s excitement about this haunted house was unhealthy.

    It wasn’t like he was obsessed with horror or anything, but Keith always liked the thrill of an adrenaline rush. He was enamored with rollercoasters and even practiced an extreme level of karate every weekend with people from all over the country and even the world, beating them every time. He frequently watched scary movies with Pidge every now and then and absolutely loved the crime games that would make Lance scream in terror when the villain popped out of nowhere to kill him. Sure, Keith screamed, but he recovered too quickly from that rush for it to really affect him in the way it affected Lance. Lance just prayed he would survive.

    Even the front of the haunted house was terrifying. Fake blood seeped out the windows, very realistic looking shadows of murderers and cannibals eating guts. Lance wanted to jump in the car and get the living heck out of here, but as he turned his eyes back to the line, his smiling boyfriend forced him to think otherwise. Keith was doing things that he didn’t like for Lance all the time. Lance owed him this as a boyfriend. So he reluctantly tucked his phone in his pocket, forcing himself to stay calm as he pushed the trauma far back into his head.

    “Alright!” Lance announced, forcing his voice to go from timid to excited as he approached Keith in the line. “Are you ready?” he asked Keith. Keith just rolled his eyes, continuing to smile.

    “Of course I am.” he replied taking his phone from Lance’s hand and showing the tickets to the man at the desk. He nodded, handing the phone back before moving on to the next people. Keith began to talk again, but what he said was completely blocked out for a moment as Lance forced himself to look down the deep dark tunnel leading them through the schoolhouse.

    If it hadn’t been a real, maybe it would’ve been less terrifying, but about fifty years ago, a man had killed tons and tons of children and teenagers in here. Over one hundred of them. By now it was ‘safe’ obviously and had been sold to some people who used it for this purpose every Halloween. Obviously it was a huge hit, people coming from all over, but the thought sent chills down his spine.

    When he was little, there was this group of teenagers from the high school. Every year on Halloween they had a tradition of scaring the middle school trick-or-treaters. Lance just happened to be their favorite target. For most kids, their Halloween memories included candy and family time. For Lance, it was full of screaming and hiding for hours in the woods, having seventeen year old boys chasing after him with fake kitchen knives and calling him names that would never be okay to call a little boy who had wet his pants out of terror.

    That had traumatized Lance. Every Halloween he would come home sobbing. Even when his sibling were sent with him, the teenagers always found Lance and they always chased him away when Luis’s or Veronica’s back was turned for a single second. One time he’d climbed up a tree and had gotten stuck for hours, screaming and crying while the high schoolers held up their fake kitchen knives and gnashed their realistic looking vampire teeth. He’d been stuck for so long that his parents had ended up calling the police and Lance had to sit in the station for a whole hour with his lion costume drenched in sweat and urine as he sobbed out the story to police officers he didn’t even know, waiting for his mama and papa to come and pick him up.

    Ever since then, Lance couldn’t bare the scary parts Halloween, or for that matter, anything scary at all. He would hand candy out to little kids and enjoy the simple pleasures of watching movies like _Hocus Pocus_ , but Lance never dared to set foot in a haunted house, nor did he ever flick the screen to the scary movies. They reminded him too much of those nights he truly thought he was going to die as those stupid high school kids chased him around, threatening to kill him for hours in the deep darkness of the woods behind his house.

    Lance had never told anyone about this, it was a secret kept between his family. Most of the time he was able to avoid his moments of anxiety (and slight PTSD), he could suggest a different and better movie than a scary one, he could request something else to do. But this was his boyfriend’s _birthday_. It was his choice to do something today and Lance owed him a lot anyways. So Lance tried his very best to push the memories aside, reaching over and grabbing Keith’s hand.

    “Ready?” he asked, a sly look on his face. Lance grinned and nodded, forcing himself not to cry.

    All horror movies Lance had ever heard described paled in comparison to this place. The first jump scare nearly gave Lance a heart attack. Keith and himself both screamed, but Keith immediately broke into giggles. As for Lance, he could hardly breathe.

    He couldn’t stop thinking about being a little kid, hiding behind trees as a guy dressed as a zombie chased after him, growling and gnashing his teeth. His breath smelled like cigarettes and beer as he laughed into Lance’s nine year old face, terrorizing him with the noises and those body fingers he had painted well enough that they could easily be mistaken for something real in the dark of the forest.

    “Oh geez.” Keith giggled, leaning on Lance. Lance didn’t know how, but he somehow managed to laugh, thanking god it was dark enough that Keith couldn’t tell he was about to start sobbing.

    They moved on, Lance experiencing his childhood in a loophole as monsters and people jumped at them, clawing for their flesh. Knives were wielded. Chainsaws. A person kept following Lance, he could feel their breath on his neck, but he couldn’t seem to get away. Keith screamed and laughed when Lance screamed. Terror after terror came and went, and it wasn’t just jump scares, a majority of the routine was truly just horrifying. Actors replicated scenes from The Shining and The Exorcist. Lance almost passed out when he saw a woman scuttle down the stairs, black stringy hair covering her face.  But nothing was quiet as bad as the house of mirrors.

    Keith had let go of his hand, saying that it could be a race for the both of them. Whoever got to the other side in less time won! But before Lance could so much as say anything, Keith as dashing through the maze, a mess of laughter and giggles (which was a rarity). A couple of thumps and some groans later (and a few screams), Keith declared his victory from the other side. It had taken him two minutes. Now it was Lance’s turn. He announced that he was ready and Keith started his timer. Lance dashed inside.

    Broken mirrors littered the maze. Lance felt dizzy and terrified as fake blood dripped from the broken glass littered at his feet. His horrified expression reflected back at him, showing him how stupid he looked. But it was only when something appeared behind him that Lance truly lost it.

    It was a dark figure, shadow like. Lance knew in the back of his mind that it wasn’t real, but everything else was telling him otherwise. He knew it was okay, this entire time he’d just been telling himself that everything would be fine, it was just fake. And in those times he was able to concentrate on the fact that Keith was with him, holding his hand and occasionally hugging him as they both screamed. But now Keith was gone, lost on the other side. Lance was alone. 

    He shrieked at the top of his lungs, memories flickering in his head so violently that he could almost see the forest behind his house, a teenage boy dressed perfectly as Freddy Krueger from Nightmare On Elm Street, his scissor hands ready to cut Lance into ribbons.

    Within seconds his screams turned to sobs. He scrambled around the maze, bumping into mirrors and at one point tripping over some plastic made to look like shattered glass. He cried, terrified as the figure continued to be reflected off of the mirrors, getting closer and closer and closer. The figure suddenly had a normal voice, asking him if he was okay and telling him to calm down, There was a real person in there, concerned for him, but Lance couldn’t see past the mask. All he could see was that kid in the Freddy Krueger mask, ready to kill him.

    After a lot of crashing and bumping, screaming and crying, Lance burst free of the maze, running past Keith and towards the big glowing ‘Exit’ sign. But as he forced the door open and the cold night air hit him, there was nothing that could stop him. He ran to the open field behind the schoolhouse, frantically wiping the tears off his face as the memories slowly overtook him, drowning him.

    He collapsed besides a lone sycamore tree in the middle of the grass, fog hanging in the crisp night air. Leaves crackled beneath his feet as he hugged himself, tears pouring madly down his trembling cheeks. His teeth chattered as he collapsed to the ground. He wasn’t even cold, just scared as he looked towards the school.

    It was incredibly far off in the distance, far enough that it looked a little bit small. Lance’s legs ached from the effort and his breaths were heavy with need for air. He sobbed pathetically on the ground, curling into a tiny ball in between the abandoned soccer field and the old concession stands. The tree was his only comfort. At least, until he saw a figure sprinting towards him in the distance.

    For a moment, Lance was positive it was one of those teenage boys. He just let out a sob of terror, crumpling further in on himself. But as he turned to get one last look, it turned out to be Keith.

    His boyfriend’s face was full of fear as he ran frantically across the wet and dewy grass towards him. He panted for a second as he reached the tree, putting his hands on his knees and bending over to catch a breath as Lance continued to tremble and sob beneath the tree.

    “Lance?” he finally managed, moving to sit on his knees. Lance barely managed to look at Keith, huge tears dripping down his nose. “…You’re crying…” Keith breathed, almost like he couldn’t believe it. Lance almost wanted to say _‘duh?!’_ but he was too terrified at the moment to do much more than tremble and cry.

    “…Oh Lance…” he mumbled, carefully beginning to pull Lance from the ground. Lance was stiff as a board, complete dead weight, so it was a bit hard to get him off of the ground, but Keith managed. He reached out, brushing some dead leaves off of Lance’s sweater before bringing him into a hug. “It’s okay, you’re safe. I’m right here, love.” he mumbled softly into his boyfriend’s ear. “Don’t be scared, it’s all fake.” Lance clung desperately to Keith, his fingers digging deep into his sweater. He let loose all of the tears he’d been holding in all evening.

    “I-I know it’s fake.” Lance cried. “I-I…I…” he tried so hard to explain it, but every moment he tried to speak something would clench in his throat. Keith, thankfully, was incredibly patient, holding Lance tight and stroking his hair with a gentleness that was so soft and sweet it made his heart ache.

    “Hey…” Keith mumbled, “I have an idea.” Lance barely managed to look up. Keith smiled gently his way, holding him close.

    “Let’s get in the car, get you some new pants and underwear-”

    “Wait, what?” Lance croaked, looking down at himself. His cheeks immediately burned in humiliation as he realized what had happened. Keith’s own cheeks flushed, his expression turning into one that said ‘I can’t believe I just said that!’.

    “Hey, it’s okay, I have some extra clothes in there.”

    “I-I’m sorry-”

    “No, love, don’t be sorry.” he mumbled. “It’s not your fault. Come on. Let’s get some takeout and go home.”

    “B-but the haunted house, you’re birthday…I want you to have fun-”

    “Sweetheart.” Keith said softly, “I don’t need a haunted house to have fun. If it makes you cry then there’s nothing fun about it. I didn’t know you’d be so scared, I should’ve thought about this before…” he mumbled softly, “I’m okay with just being home with you, and I already had my fun, as far as I can remember the house of mirrors was the last piece of the haunted house.” Keith lied. In fact, there was an entire other story to it, but Keith figured he’d already seen it and he’d rather spend the night cuddling with his boyfriend in their apartment.

    “Really?” Lance blubbered.

    “Yes, really.” Keith whispered softly. For a moment Lance hesitated, still pressed tightly into Keith’s warm chest. He let a couple more tears slip down his cheeks before calming down enough to stop crying.

    Keith gave Lance his jacket, which he tied around his waist to avoid any weird looks as they walked back. Lance pressed close to Keith, still having to take sharp breaths, a tear trickling down his cheeks occasionally. Thankfully, his boyfriend continued to keep him close, holding him with a softness that was meant only for him.

    “Let’s get some Korean takeout, ‘kay?” Keith suggested as they finally reached the car.

    “Mhm.” Lance shakily got in the back seat while Keith crawled in the front, patiently waiting as Lance changed his clothes with Keith’s extra ones that he always made sure to leave in the car. And as soon as Lance was done and was back in the front seat, he decided he couldn’t hide this secret forever, especially not from his boyfriend who liked going to haunted houses and watching scary movies.

    He turned to Keith, hardly able to believe that he was about to confess this. The only person he’d truly told about this was that police officer who’d interrogated him on Halloween night. Only through him did his family know, but the words of a nine year old could not begin to describe the unspeakable horrors which happened to him every Halloween since he had turned six.

    “Keith.” Lance mumbled. Keith immediately turned his head towards his lover, ready to listen. “…I need to tell you something.”

    “Okay.” Keith said softly.

    It took Lance a minute, but he managed to croak out the stories, his voice getting hoarse occasionally. Sometimes he had to stop to cry for a minute, not just because he was scared, but mostly because he felt guilty. He was ruining his boyfriend’s birthday. But Keith simply held him as he blubbered out the rest, kissing his face softly and touching him tenderly, whispering things like, ‘it’s okay, I’m here’.  And finally, _finally_ Lance got to the end. He let out a deep breath, letting the last of his tears fall onto Keith’s shoulder.

    Keith was silent for a moment as he processed the stories he had just heard about his nine year old boyfriend being terrorized by a group of drunk (and likely high) teenagers every year. And all this time Lance had been faking loving haunted houses and scary movies just for Keith. Honestly, Keith wasn’t sure how he felt about that. It made him love his boyfriend, but at the same time he was a little bit angry that he hadn’t been told this sooner. But as his eyes drifted back down to the little ball of Lance in his arms, he realized that Lance probably just concealed it so Keith wouldn’t be disappointed. It was something he did far too often and it always ended up hurting him. Keith decided not to be angry, instead choosing the better option.

    “I’m glad you told me.” he mumbled softly. “I just wish you would’ve said something sooner, love.” Lance sniffled, looking up at his boyfriend. Lance didn’t deserve someone so understanding and kind.

    “Yeah.” Lance hiccupped, staying close to Keith for a moment. Neither of them said anything during that time, but the massage was clear. _‘It’s going to be okay’_. Keith squeezed Lance for a moment, decided now that he’d stopped crying it could be a time to ask.

   “Can I kiss you, just to make it better?” Keith mumbled softly, pushing Lance’s hair out of his eyes. He nodded in reply, seeming a little bit relieved to have that suggested.

    And so they kissed for a moment, Lance calming down exponentially as Keith pushed his lips ever gently against Lance’s own. He allowed himself to finally relax against his boyfriend, the two of them getting a little bit closer. Keith’s hand trailed around Lance’s waist while Lance’s own hand went up to ruffle Keith’s fluffy little mullet. They both giggled into the kiss, Lance no longer feeling scared. Instead, he simply indulged in a couple more seconds of kissing before he collapsed back into the passenger’s side of the seat.

    Keith smiled at Lance for a moment, taking his boyfriend’s hand and squeezing it tight.

    “Okay…let’s go home.”

    “Yeah.” Lance replied, enjoying the feeling of Keith’s hand in his own as they drove down the road, no longer afraid of what was lingering in the dark.


End file.
